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Aclys
Etymology The Aclys (pl. aclydes) is named for a short javelin or dart used in the early days of ancient Rome, usually propelled with the help of an amentum, or sling. Design Philosophy and Operational Role Eight large wheels provide excellent ground traction, enabling the Aclys to cross difficult terrain at high speed with reasonable agility. This is about all that can be said about the vehicle. It has a high profile, making it a tempting target for Commonwealth gunnery officers. Top-heavy, a sharp turn with the turret rotated to either the left or right side can tip the Aclys on its side if the driver is not careful. Considered a cost-effective (and expendable) way to bring infantry to the front-lines, the Aclys is little more than a large metal box mounted on wheels. The weapons, three popgun light lasers and a small load of SMLM dispersal-warhead missiles, were added almost as an afterthought, to provide the Legionnaires with at least a modicum of fire support. The turret shows the hasty assembly; the thin armour ring on the turret´s traverse is a weak point even to infantry weapons fire. The Aclys sports three hatches on its sides and rear, plus an emergency hatch in the bottom of the vehicle. This enables the infantry to dismount on the side facing away from the enemy and use the vehicle´s bulk as cover from small-arms fire. Due to the Aclys´ extensive use by penal Auxilia, there are some design features unique to it, such as the internal foam-block sprayers in the infantry compartment, designed to immobilise inmates in the advent of a revolt. The driver and gunner are completely isolated from the infantry cell by a sheet of armour, and their egress hatches are reinforced and double-locked to prevent rebellious penal troopers from taking over the vehicle and turn it on their masters. The weapons´ low penetration is also intentional. This is to ensure that the Aclys is powerless against the thick armour of the Romulus grav APCs employed by the Auxilia´s MP century. Production History Phantas Inc. produces literally billions of Aclydes. Above all, the vehicle is cheap and expendable, and production is high enough to replace those lost in combat. Deployment The main use of the Aclys is as organic transport in penal Auxilia, providing a degree of protection to the advancing Legionnaires where the usual mode of transport (i.e. clinging to the outsides of the grav vehicles of the unit the Auxilia is assigned to) is not feasible. The drivers are no penal troopers in most cases, but regular Legionnaires or Ssoran guards. The vehicles are usually used to establish the penal Legionnaires in their area of operations. They may also be used in the first few assaults. If the penal unit is too successful (i.e. if the casualties sustained are too light), the Auxilia´s command may withdraw the vehicles and their fire support. As soon as the intended number of casualties, about 75 per cent of the Auxilia´s original strength, has been reached, the Aclydes are sent back in to shuttle the survivors out of the fire zone. Those few Aclydes that are assigned to Garrison Legions, often surpluses from production runs intended for penal units, are less expendable (much to the relief of the crews assigned to them), and are often used as armoured buses to rotate Legionnaires to and from their posts. Their use as infantry fighting vehicles is limited anyway, so they are usually pulled back out of the line of fire as soon as they have deployed their infantry. Category:Ground Vehicles Category:TOG Vehicles Category:A to Z Index Category:Medium Ground Tanks